1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process and to an apparatus for identifying coins in which the coins are separated by a separating device.
2. Discussion of the Background
A process and an apparatus of this type are known from GB-A-2 128 795. In the case of this solution, the side borders of the receiving compartments, which are open towards the circumference of the disc, converge towards the center of the disc. This measure means that the coins are held in an accurately defined measuring position during the measurement, irrespective of their size. Upon running through two stationary measuring stations, the size, i.e. the diameter, of the coins is sensed. For this purpose, use is made, at each measuring station, of a light-barrier arrangement having a number of light barriers which are arranged along a radially running line. Depending on the size of the coins, more or less light barriers are interrupted when the coins run past the measuring stations. The coin sizes are determined in an evaluation unit from the resulting signals. In this arrangement, the disc is rotated in steps in time with the operation of the evaluation unit.
In the case of this known apparatus, the measurement and evaluation electronics are comparatively high in outlay. In addition, the clock-governed mode of operation of this apparatus rules out very high operating speeds.
It is also known to identify coins in a manner other than by means of measurement of their dimensions. For example, GB-A-2 135 492 describes a process for detecting coins, in the case of which process an eddy current is induced in the respective coin, the decay of the eddy current is monitored, and the resulting actual value is then compared with a desired value, the respective coin being detected upon correspondence of the compared values.